MADRID, Jan. 14 (SportsFinding) –
The Spanish rider Isidre Esteve (Repsol Rally Team) acknowledges that he has been “pleasantly surprised” by the change of the Dakar Rally to Saudi Arabia, which has allowed the raid to return “to its origins” when it was taking place in Africa.
“I have to confess that I faced this Dakar with curiosity as it is a new country, a new culture and a totally different route from South America, but after these days I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised in every way,” said Esteve in statements provided by your team.
The Catalan, already out of the test after his problems last Sunday, believes that the raid is “proving excellent on a sporting level both technically and for its extraordinary landscapes” and gave credit to the direction of David Castera. “It is being noticed for good, with special ones that have reminded me of Morocco and Mauritania. Without a doubt, this edition has returned to the origins of the Dakar,” he admitted.
Esteve also describes as “pleasant surprise” the decision to deliver the roadbook minutes before the start of the stage because “it allows to equalize the forces at the navigation level”. “Among the participants there was a fear of seeing how they would be marked and, at the moment of truth, the truth is that the information is very complete and without errors,” he said.
“With this new system, the Dakar takes a great step forward to recover the importance of navigation, which lately had lost a lot of prominence due to technological aids. I hope this policy change with the 'roadbook' will continue in the future , since it is a great success, “added the Repsol Rally Team driver.
For the ilerdense, this novelty is reflected in the general car “where equality is extraordinary, with only 24 seconds of difference between Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al-Attiyah”. “I am sure that there will be excitement until the end and I anticipate that the race will continue exciting until the last day,” he says.
However, it launches a notice for Wednesday. “Be careful with the stage, which will be the first part of the marathon, in the south of the country with very beautiful dunes that can cause surprises in the classification,” he said.
Esteve is also “very pleased to have enjoyed the birth of a new era for the Dakar, marked by many changes aimed at improving the sports level.” “All the news has been very well received by the pilots, as it shows that only positive and no negative comments are heard in the camp,” he said.
“The country has also pleasantly surprised me, for its incredible variety of terrain and its wonderful landscapes. It has broken tracks, but also a lot of dune areas that, by geographical proximity, resemble those of the Dubai Rally,” added the Catalan, that he has found “a normality more than acceptable and very different on a social level” than he could think. “I anticipate a long journey for the Dakar in Saudi Arabia, a place where the race can settle for years to come,” he said.